The Galapagos Trip

Galapagos Trip:

Prior to the trip...there were some problems and confusion with flights and travel to the airport. We ended up having to temporarily postpone our trip until the company and our club were able to reschedule everything. It ended up working out that the kids in my city of Machala went to the Galapagos just the 14 of us instead of the big group of 35-40 students as originally planned. This was both dissapointing, and helpful at the same time as we didn't have to break off into smaller groups when we got to the day trips on the islands. It still would have been nice to see some other students from other parts of Ecuador for a change instead of only the Machala kids that I spend time with every week anyways (I love them, I do, but I like getting to know new people too). Well anyways...

Monday: We left Machala at 2:30AM to get to the airport in Guayaquil early for our flight check in. After waiting an eternity at the airport, we boarded our two hour flight to the island of Baltra, the location of one of only two airports in the Galapagos island region. In fact, the island of Baltra is only used for the airport and nothing else; there is no population there. When we landed, it was around 2PM because the islands are actually an hour behind Ecuador's time. We took a mini-barge from the island of Baltra to the bigger and most popular island of Santa Cruz where we had another 45 minute bus ride to the bottom, populated part of the island. We checked in at the Ninfa? Hotel, and immediately changed for our lunch and afternoon excursion. After lunch we walked a very long way (probably 45-50 minutes) to a beautiful beach called Tortuga bay. It was stunning- beautiful sand, beautiful ocean. The water was very salty but the temperature was fantastic as well as the waves. There were plenty of surfers out there taking advantage of the great swell. We stayed there for 1.5 hours before having to leave as the beach closed at 6. We walked back and immediately went for the warm pool at the hotel to try and get the sand and salt off us. After a shower, it was dinner time. The hotel did a nice job with all of our meals. After dinner, we hung out in the lounge-bar area where many utilized the free wifi and where Simone and I played many rounds of pool (billiards) as a team with the other students. It got late and we went to bed knowing we had an early start the next day.

Tuesday: We woke up at 5AM for a 5:30 breakfast and a 6AM departure in a bus to the same port where the ferry dropped us off at the island the day before. Once there, we got on a little inflatable motor boat to be brought out to the bigger boat we would be spending the day on. We went to Bartolome Island, a small island off the coast of the bigger island of Santiago, just northeast of Santa Cruz. It was a spectacular view...then went snorkeling around the area ...saw a hugeee mamma manta and her baby, a tortoise, some big starfish, a gigantic lobster, and some beautifully colored fish (many Dory's). Then we got back on the boat, ate lunch, tanned on the front of the boat (I mean burned), and saw a bunch of great animals like dolphins and even a shark swimming next to our boat. The ride to and from the island was around 3 hours each way. Back at the hotel around 5PM, I showered before dinner again. After dinner we went out to explore the area of Port Ayora and looked at souvenir shops and got an ice cream. It was a nice little outing. We came back and once again hung out until late.

Wednesday: Wake up was at 6, breakfast 6:30, and departure at 7. We walked down to the port where we got on a taxi boat that brought us to the actual boat we would be spending the day on. It was a different style boat then the day before, meant for more speed and more passengers to bring them from place to place. We all found a way to get comfortable and sleep for the 2.5-3 hour ride to our destination on Isabela Island. Upon arrival, we got on a bus to take us to a fresh-water pool where there are usually many flamingos if the nutrient in the water is good (there were only two flamingos when we arrived). After a quick talk about the flamingos in this location, we walked next door to the tortoise museum/reserve (I don't remember the name). There are some really huge tortoises there. It was cool to learn about how they lay eggs and the whole process of reproducing their species and where certain species were found on the different islands. The put a lot of effort into the care and protection of them. After our museum tour, we got back on the bus to head to a nearby beach for a little swim before lunch. It was another beautiful spot, with calmer waters and a quick chance to relax. After an hour we got out to head to lunch. Then, we got in a boat to see another part of the island where we hoped to see penguins (we saw 4), sharks (we saw the tail-end of one that was sleeping in the shadows), and a specific spot where we would see plenty of ugly iguanas. From there, we went a little further out to try and spot sharks and got a second chance to snorkel. During this snorkel trip we saw more tortoises, but specifically got to get very close to some 12-15 sharks that were in an rock-cave and occasionally would swim out for us to get a good look. Our guide was super generous and decided to buy a go-pro for our group to use (because nobody had an underwater camera or anything...) so we and future groups could borrow it to take underwater pictures. Our snorkel guide was able to get some great shots of the sharks down in their cove. It was fantastic! After a long snorkeling session we got back on the boat for what turned out to be a long and sickening ride back. I decided to go up to the top deck where there are seats available for the driver and 3 or 4 others. It was a pretty view but I wasn't in one of the chairs so I really couldn't see anything anyways. Then, the water got extremely choppy and I found my self getting thrown around, hitting my arms on the rails and almost hitting my head. The harsh waves really hurt to go over. And not only that but it just made me so sick to my stomach and I felt like I had a huge headache. Either way, that was not a ride I enjoyed- it was far too long, I was uncomfortable sitting there on the deck, and it made my head hurt for the rest of the trip (not to mention a bruised arm and tailbone). But we made it back and I got to have a cola and some headache medicine to help me while we waited for dinner. After dinner, we had story-time for an hour or two before everyone went back to their rooms, some of us staying in one room to socialize late into the night. I really enjoyed talking and laughing with my good friends.

Thursday: Up and ready at the same time as Wednesday. We went to the port and once again boarded the speed boat to take us the 2.5-3 hours, this time to the island San Cristobal which is the most populated island of the Galapagos and also contains the only other airport. At the island we switched to a different boat authorized to take our group to Leon Dormido (in English- “sleeping lion”) for us to snorkel again around the two giant rocks and through the canal they form. It is called the Sleeping Lion because of the shape that is formed from the rock structure. The best part of that snorkel trip was an up-close experience with a manta and a sea-lion...like SUPER UP-CLOSE. I seriously want to take a sea-lion home, they are adorable! Other than that, the snorkel trip wasn't that successful like some of the others. The water was a too choppy to see much if it wasn't close. After snorkeling we boarded the boat once more to head to a beach area where we ate lunch, had more snorkeling (by that time I was extremely snorkeled out) and a then took a ride back to the bigger boat in the San Cristobal port that would bring us back to Santa Cruz. Luckily, the long rides on the big speed boat were better this day and I got to enjoy a semi-peaceful ride back. We hung out by the pool awhile before showering and having dinner. After dinner we got to go back into the town, and this time I spent some money on souvenirs and a frozen yogurt treat. Then we stopped at a cyber-cafe to download the go-pro pictures we had taken in order to return the device to our guide the next morning. We downloaded pictures and returned to the hotel where we stayed in the lounge area for as long as possible playing pool like we had almost every other night, then returned to a room to talk until we headed to our own rooms for bed. I packed my bags before heading to sleep.

Friday: Same time again. We left in a bus but stopped in town at the Charles Darwin National Park. It wasn't even open yet, so we couldn't go into the museum part like I would have liked in order to learn more about his impact on the islands but we did take an hour to see more protected tortoises and iguanas in the park. After our short tour the bus brought us to the top of Santa Cruz to catch a ferry back to Baltra for our flight back home. There was more waiting and travel problems (our chaperone's bag got lost and we had to wait for it to come in on the next flight)...typical. But we all got to Guayaquil around 3, had something to eat and left the airport around 4PM for the 3 hour ride back to Machala.

And that was my awesome Galapagos trip! :)  

A Post to Make Up for Lack of Posts

Hello blog world,

It has been wayhayhayyy too long since I have posted (4 months, I know). I feel bad- I do. I was so on top of my blog for the first 4-5 months and then I went on the Amazon trip, switched host families and pretty much got a life. I probably still could have found time to write and post, I mean, you should see the number of blog-post drafts that I have on my computer! But I would either forget or just keep pushing it off in order to do other projects, spend time with friends, or sleep.

So this is my post to make up for the time. I will try my best to cover everything I missed or wanted to say but didn't get to. Because like I said in the beginning, I want this blog to accurately represent my year abroad. I want it to help describe to people the year that I am having. So, here is a blog post to fill in the blanks before I get into the other more important posts that I am looking to upload.

Ok so;

The Amazon Trip-

Back in January I went on a trip to the Amazon. I had been before- but this trip was absolutely fantastic. I wanted to let this part of the post be a "picture is worth a thousand words" kind of deal but I somehow managed to delete all the pictures I took on the trip, and although I have recovered most of them, the format of the recovered files have made it almost impossible to upload anything. So instead of writing every incredible detail of the trip, I will give you a quick summary instead: We flew north to a town on the Napo river where we got on boats for another two hour trek to the Sacha Lodge where we stayed for the 4 day trip. Once there, we did a lot of walking/hiking through the forest, and plenty of canoeing as well to see the different plant and animal habitats of the jungle. It was incredible! We were split into groups of 6, and my little group was so much fun- we also had the best guide; he was very insightful. Every night most of us got together in one of the exchange student's cabin-rooms and would talk for hours. I also decided to go down to the dock one night because the view of the stars from this location was amazing!!! Of all the trips, despite the amount of sweating I did on this one, I really think this one was my favorite. I got to know the other kids in our group who live in Guayaquil and I got to revisit the jungle. Who can say they've been to the Amazon forest two times in their life (besides people that live and work in the jungle, or live in a country nearby)? It was totally different too because our tours were in Spanish unlike my English tours the first time I was there. The food at the lodge was so delicious and the sleeping arrangements very comfortable. I even got to swim in the lake with piranhas and crocodiles, catch piranha, and try a bite of grilled piranha. So yeah, I had a fantastic time.

Switching Host Families-

Just four days after getting back from the Amazon trip, I had to pack up all my stuff and move from the host family where I was living to another family. We switch within the club that is hosting us, which means that I went to a house where another student already was living for the first half of the year. I will be honest; I didn't want to switch. In fact, I was thinking about convincing the club to let me stay with my last host family, as I was comfortable with them and after a student chose to go home, they weren't going to recieve anyone. I was really unsure about switching after knowing how the student in the house I was going to had spent his first months here in Ecuador. All the students were pretty apprehensive about it actually...it's hard when you talk to the others and they tell you about what they like and dislike with their family. So, I went into my new family a little nervous, but remembering the importance of an open mind and that I am a different person then the last student and I can make the most of any situation. Turns out, switching host families was the best thing that could have happened to me on my exchange. It was silly of me, assuming that my experience would be the same as the other student's in this house. I also learned that exchange is as good as you make it. What I'm trying to say is, you never know if you can do something if you don't ask and you never will have a good relationship with your host family if you don't leave your room to get to know them. It's all about how involved you want to be, and most of the time, great host parents will be totally willing to let you have the best time. In the case of the student in this family before me, he just never asked. 

Turns out, I was the perfect fit for this family- Cesar, Patricia and their son Sebastian welcomed me into their home to fill the temporary spot of their 17 year old daughter/sister Paulina who is on exchange in Denmark. I actually felt and still feel like I am part of a family that cares for me, that wants me around, that is willing to do things with me and wants me to enjoy my time here. In this family, I actually have a host-sibling, Sebastian, who is 12 years old. I think having host siblings is an important part of the exchange experience, and I have a brother back home, so it's only natural for me to have a sibling. I enjoyed having that brother-sister dynamic back in my life. Sebas and I enjoy bantering with each other and that's fun for me. My host parents are some of the kindest people I have met and they actually understand me. They never say no to letting my friends come hang out, and willing to bring me places if I give them a heads-up. My host dad has a great sense of humor, and I really connect with his principles/way of thinking. And then, my host mom has really taken the opportunity to get to know me and is genuinely interested in my life. She has given me great advice along the way. Over all, I am so grateful to get two great host families, but especially my second family. They completely changed my exchange for the better.

Finding Activities-

My new host family was keen on me getting out of the house and doing something. So after a little searching and asking around, I finally found something worth while. I started going to a cooking school and it was exactly what I needed. I went Monday-Thursday from 8-10am and learned some really interesting and useful things for the future, like recipes that I can take back and use in the states not only for living on my own, but for showing family and friends Ecuadorian cuisine. I love food anyways, so it was wonderful getting recipes and trying things out. I made my family's Christmas sugar cookies with the NH cookie cutter to present to my class and then to my host family, and they were all impressed. The cooking classes were totally worth it. I also took guitar lessons once a week, which required practice during the week to improve before the next lesson. And every afternoon, I either went to Crossfit from 4-6 to exercise, or had plans to spend time with friends. So you can see, I got a little busy for a while.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics-

It is an exciting time to be an exchange student that likes sports, especially during the Olympic Games. Starting with the last winter games in Vancouver 2010, I found an interest in watching the games. These are some incredible athletes doing incredible things. The amount of talent, dedication, practice, strength, and perseverance to be an Olympic athlete is something not many people have; it is something to be very proud of. I think that is part of the reason I like watching these athletes and teams compete. It is an exciting event! But from my exchange student perspective, what is even more exciting is seeing countries come together to celebrate the games by watching, cheering, participating, and honoring the successes of the countries as well as the individual athletes representing them. Ecuador is not a country that participates in the winter games (I hope you understand why), but watching the games from the perspective of another country was so cool for me. I had a couple great exchange friends who were into watching the games with me, and it was really exciting to have some friendly competition, country pride, and a lot of success.

Experiencing Ecuador-

Ecuador is famous for a number of things, including the diversity of it's land and the production of different products/goods. The region of El Oro, where my city is located, is famous for the production of bananas, cocoa, and shrimp. The city of Machala is called the banana capital of the world for the amount of bananas it packs and ships annually. I have always thought it is important to know about the important products and exports of a place, especially in an experience like this. Not only is it good to know about one of the biggest parts of the economy here in Ecuador, but it's interesting to see how these things are done if you don't know anything about it. Luckily for me, host dad owns a banana packing company and a few rice fields. He is also friends with some guys who catch and pack the shrimp here on the coast as well as some who work with the cocoa too. Being the great guy that he is, he helped me organize a couple "field trip" days where me and some of the other exchange students in my city to be able to see how these processes work. The first day, we went to my dad's banana fields and packing area where they told us all about growing, harvesting and packing the bananas. We also stopped by to see them till the soil where the rice is at my dad's rice field. Then, we went next-door to my dad's soccer field where we had a nice barbeque and hung out. It was a great day! The second trip we went to the port of Machala where products come in and out, one of those being shrimp. We got to go to the shrimp packing plant to see how they process and pack the shrimp that is caught. Then, we got to hang out at my grandparents house in the port where they have a great pool for swimming with a group of friends. I am so glad we got to do these things not only to learn more about our province but to also have some group bonding time. Special thank you shout out to my host dad, Cesar!

The Galapagos Islands Trip-
On March 24th the kids of Machala went to the Galapagos Islands for the week.

The Galápagos Islands are a small archipelago of volcanic islands belonging to Ecuador in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The islands are quite remote and isolated, lying some 1000 km (620 miles) off the shore of Ecuador. The Galápagos are world renowned for its unique ecosystem which was the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. Giant tortoises, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and different bird species can all be seen and approached. Strict controls on tourist access are maintained in an effort to protect the natural habitats and all visitors must be accompanied by a national park-certified naturalist tour guide. - See more at: http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-ecuador/#sthash.ntF6nVMB.dpuf

*I will be posting a separate blog post with the details about this trip

A Rough Patch-

Exchange is advertised as the best year of your life. And for the most part, it really is incredible. For me though, the saying "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" is essential on exchange. Because what they mention but don't talk about enough, are the problems. Exchange always, without fail, will throw problems at the student- a set of hoops to jump over. It's like a test; who can avoid striking out when being thrown multiple physical and emotional curveballs, while on top of it trying to deal with these things in a completely foreign environment just for the sake of additional discomfort. I think people should talk about the bad times to, because if you never talk about it, nobody can learn from it and maybe you personally wont appreciate the growth of it either if you don't acknowledge it. That being said-

Coming back from the Galapagos trip, I was hit with some hard situations. April first was no joke; first of all, there was an earthquake in Chile that triggered a tsunami with warnings as far up as Ecuador. That in itself was worrisome. Then, there were exchange students posting the typical "good to be back home" and "I leave tomorrow" posts as their fun little April fools prank and I wasn't having any of it because I was almost certain that I would be going home in a few days myself, for real, and I just wasn't sure yet which of a few reasons would be bringing me there. Not only was I dealing with some host club issues that if worse could have likely been the end of my exchange, but I also got a call from my dad saying that my grandfather back home had a stroke and they didn't really know how he was or how severe it was. That was no prank. My Dad informed me that my mom was flying to Florida to be with him and my grandmother. As awful as this is, I was so scared that I would be told I needed to come home for a funeral or something. Of course it had me very concerned. To top that off, my host family here was having problems of their own- the grandmother on my host dad's side died and the father of my host mom went into shock and survived but was then looking at some severe recovery and surgery needed- for which they decided to do in the United States. Again, no jokes there. So as you can imagine with all of this going on at almost one time, I was a mess. Did the earthquake effect any of my exchange friends in Chile? No. Did the tsunami wreak havoc on the coast like they warned it could? No. Did the problems with my club send me packing? No. Did my grandfather live/is he okay? Yes. and Yes. And is my host doing okay? Well, thankfully the father of my host mom went to the US for his tricky surgery and it went well. He has been back for about a month and a half now and is recovering well. The whole family was able to breath a sigh of relief once he got back. So, for a period of time- I was a little on-edge and emotional. But you have to expect the unexpected on exchange. And most importantly, I believe, you have to have faith. Doesn't matter to me what you have faith in, but it's gotta be in something. I was constantly praying and hoping that things would turn around. I was checking on my friends in Chile, talking with my club back home to assure them that I was okay and the tsunami didn't end up effecting me, working to get things resolved with my host club, working to be there for my host family, and staying in contact with my family back home for constant updates on my grandfather. And I survived the curveballs. All of them. I was able to make it on base, in fact, I am about to round to home plate in less than 10 days. With a situation like that, not everybody would still be here on exchange. They would have given up, or struck out. But I made it, I am still here. And I am proud of myself for that accomplishment. 

Counting The Days- 

90 days ago, (about the end of March) I checked my countdown app on my iPad to see how many days I had. 100 days. I had spent 200 already in Ecuador and was starting on the final countdown. I decided to celebrate this final countdown in Ecuador with the #100happydays project. Now, for those unaware of this project, the goal is to take and post one picture each day of something that made you happy that day, or something to be happy about in general. The hope is that you will notice things you never really thought to appreciate before, or will remember that you can find happiness everyday, in some way. There is a lot to be grateful for, whether it's lunch with friends, or just to sleep in a bed, or a song that keeps you in a good mood. Happiness is everywhere, and doing something like this makes it easier to find that happiness (even on a bad day) and remember how fortunate you are. I have really liked doing this because it can be hard some days, especially when I am sick and stuck in bed, missing home, or when I see I have 10 days left in Ecuador (10 DAYS, WHAT?!), but you can always turn things around and be glad.

I will upload my happy days picture-video as soon as I am home and have posted 100 happy pictures!

So, there are more posts coming your way, but I figured we should end on a happy note, right? Get it? Happy note? ^^ *rim-shot* Haha. Thanks for reading!

An Article Worth Reading

Hi everyone,


One of my fellow exchangers posted the link to this article the other day on her Facebook wall, and I couldn't help but share it on my blog. This article pretty much sums up everything I feel about my exchange, why I am here, and the affect it is having on my life; and it says it all so perfectly. I really couldn't have written or expressed these ideas any better myself. So, without further ado... here is the link to the article "What Happens When You Live Abroad" by Chelsea Fagan.
http://thoughtcatalog.com/chelsea-fagan/2012/05/what-happens-when-you-live-abroad/#1LfRf2leJL8sXSyC.01



"So you look at your life, and the two countries that hold it, and realize that you are now two distinct people. As much as your countries represent and fulfill different parts of you and what you enjoy about life, as much as you have formed unbreakable bonds with people you love in both places, as much as you feel truly at home in either one, so you are divided in two."



This quote and the concluding paragraph of the article are the messages that really struck me and now have me reflecting on my experiences here in Ecuador and my future back in the US or wherever I end up after having experienced life abroad. It is exciting and scary because I know I am not done with life abroad, not done discovering new places, cultures, people, not done exploring where I want to settle down in the future. But at the same time, I know how much I hate leaving my family and friends behind, and the person I get to be in the various environments.



I am different here in Ecuador, and I will bring that changed self back to the States, but other than the language, friendships, and memories...I can't fully share who I am in Ecuador with my family and friend back home. I can't live like I am living now because Ecuador isn't the Unites States. I think the best I can do is keep blogging, keep posting, keep sharing my experiences in hopes that people understand a little bit better the life I have abroad without actually being here to see me in that life and experience it themselves.



That being said, thank you to those of you reading my blog and supporting me while I am on exchange. It is nice to know that there are people back in my other home that think of me often and are excited to here about this side of me, a side foreign to all of you.



I hope you enjoyed the article!

I owe you a food post...

Some of the traditional holiday food in Ecuador as well as some snacks that I have yet to write about:

Relleno: Sweet and sevory holiday turkey stuffing made with ground meat, chorizo (sausage), bacon, apple, raisins, olives, walnuts, bread crumbs, herbs and more. We had this both at Christmas dinner and New Year's Eve dinner.






Guaguas de pan y Colada morada: These are two very traditional Ecuadorian dishes made to celebrate the Dia de los Difuntos or Day of the Deceased. The bread figures, sometimes considered bread babies, are sweet bread figures, shaped like babies or dolls, that are decorated with bright frosting as part of the holiday. The Colada Morada is a drink made with fruits like dates and grapes, peaches, and apricots, spices, and purple corn flour- the drink is purple. The fruit is only somewhat blended, so I do not advise trying to drink this in a car as there are often big chunks of fruit that make it difficult to drink and could cause a mess. I speak from experience...

Pavo horneado: Roasted turkey. This is what we had for Christmas dinner and it was delish!

Batidos: Batidos are blended drinks (similar to smoothies) made with fruit, milk (or water- I prefer milk), ice, and added sugar. I love the mango batidos, but you can pretty much get them in whatever fruilt flavor you want.

Naranjilla ice cream: Another Ecuadorian favorite, something we don't have where I am from, are naranjilla flavored batidos and ice cream. Naranjilla (solanum quitoense)  is a subtropical perennial plant from northwestern South America. It is kind of like an orange, but isn't. I don't really know how to describe this one... but it's one of my favorite homemade ice cream flavors here. I am going to miss a lot of the fruit options here in Ecuador like the naranjilla.

Maduro con queso: Fried plantain with cheese. YUM!

Lomo: The Spanish word for tenderloin. Therefore, pork tenderloin is know as lomo de cerdo, whereas beef tenderloin is just called lomo. They have a lot of lomo here.




Menudo: A traditional Ecuadorian (and Mexican) soup, usually spicy, made with tripe (intestines of cow, pig, sheep), thought of as a cure for a hangover (which is why they typically serve it on Sunday). I am not a fan of this one... ick.

Seco de pollo o carne: Chicken or beef stew cooked slowly in a sauce of beer, onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and spices. The meal with carne often includes menestra (beans) and rice.




Chaulafan de pollo: Ecuadorian chicken fried rice made with rice, chicken, bacon, onions, garlic, peppers, bell peppers, peas, carrots, scrambles eggs, raisins, spices and herbs. This stuff is good.


Mayonesa casera: You can buy it in the store, but this type of homemade mayonnaise is even better. Egg, cumin, onion, salt, sunflower oil and lemon juice should do it.

Salsa de queso con cilantro: Cheese and cilantro sauce. It is popular on meat, corn, plantain chips, and mexican food.

Salsa de mani: This isn't peanut butter, rather a warm peanut sauce made with peanut butter, milk, onion, cumin, achiote, cilantro and hard-boiled egg. It is popular on potato patties.

Salsa rosada: Also known as salsa golf, is a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. It is the best on the street vendor's salchipapas.

Huevos chilenos: The translation means Chilean eggs but they are really Ecuadorian mini-donuts. They are orange corn balls, deep fried, and sugared. These are seriously my favorite!

Hominy o Mote: Dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization. It's a type of corn.

Mote pillo: Mote pillo consists of hominy sauteed with onions, garlic, achiote, eggs, milk, chives and cilantro or parsley and normally served with hot black coffee and slices of fresh cheese.

Humitas: Savory steamed corn cakes made froma mixture of freshly ground corn, onion, garlic, cheese, eggs, and cream, which is placed inside corn husks and steamed.

Majado de verde o Tigrillo: A plantain mash made with green plantains, onrions, garlic, and achiote, fried eggs and cheese. This is delicious, one of my favorites when we go to the cafe for dinner.

Carne en palito o Pinchos de res: Thin pieces of meat seasoned with garlic, achiote and cumin and grilled on skewers. If you haven't noticed, onion and garlic are a big seasonings here.

Choclo asado con salsa de queso: Grilled corn with the salsa de queso sauce.

Ensalada rusa: A classic salad and side dish made with potatoes, carrots, peas, apples, celery, onion, and mayonnaise. It's like part fruit salad, part potato salad.

Pan de yuca: Cheese breads that melt in your mouth, typically served warm. Made with cheese and yuca or cassava starch. Usually accompanied with yogurt.





Salchipapas: A typical South American snack food sold on the street- french fries with fried hot dog sausages.


Tostada: A grilled jam and cheese. Seriosly, the best sandwiches ever.

Llapingachos: Potato patties or pancakes stuffed with cheese, cooked on a griddle until crispy brown and served with the salsa de mani, and sometimes fried egg, tomato, and onion curtido, avocado slices and hot sauce.

Llapingachos de mote: Corn patties stuffed with pork or cheese, cooked on the griddle, served with the peanut sauce, and sometimes with pickled red onions and aji criollo hot sauce.





Morocho: A thick, spiced corn pudding made with morocho cracked corn, milk, cinnamon, and sugar.

Halfway Point

Another post I meant to upload a few weeks ago...woops. My halfway point was January 21st. I return home on June 21st. 

I am starting to understand four things more and more. 

The first is that I will never be able to wrap my head around how time can’t actually slow down or speed up, but how it's just playing tricks with my mind. I am now at my halfway mark wondering what happened because I just left home and yet I don’t have much longer to go. 

The second is that now I know when I’m leaving and I can see the end, and it is all very bittersweet. I’m excited because at times I miss home but sad because I know how much I’ll miss Ecuador and the family and friends I've made here. From the starting line, 10 months in another country seems insanely long. But here I am at the halfway point and I realize just how short 10 months is and how much can change in this short period of time. 

The third is how much any exchange student needs to appreciate these ten months before they are gone and they find themselves back home with regrets because they didn't try a certain food or didn't spend more time with their host family or avoided getting really into the culture. You have to be brave...exchange is not the time to be indecisive about what to do. It is a time to learn and experience everything you possibly can. Your time in this country is short, so enjoy it now because you don't want your memories of exchange to be another bedroom instead of another country.

And the fourth is how important it is to stay positive. I’ve found that the more I seek the positives in my life, the more positive results I get. It is all about having an open mind and a positive outlook in order to get through the rough spots on exchange and fully enjoy the good spots. It is good to remember that a little change never hurts and trying new things won’t kill you (hopefully). 

Happy halfway through exchange! 

New Year's Celebration in Ecuador

What a night! (I know this post is a bit overdue, but better late than never. I've been busy!)

The pictures and video really speak for themselves. New Year's is probably the biggest celebration in Ecuador.

We had leftovers for days...

The video...*it may load better on YouTube

My family arrived around 10:30-11 and we were talking and dancing a little until we went outside for the fireworks, sparklers, and the burning of the años viejos at midnight.

This was a really unique experience for me. The burning of the años viejos (old years) is probably the most important and most widely done tradition of New Years Eve in Ecuador. People make large, scarecrow-like dolls often portraying people they dislike or people who have wronged them from the past year. You can often find portrayals of presidents or celebrities. There are fun ones too, like the minions that my family decided to get. They sell them in the street for weeks leading up to New Year's Eve. At midnight, everyone lights these dolls of newspaper, paper mache, and sawdust on fire. The symbolic meaning is that by burning the dolls, you are forgetting the bad of the past year and looking forward to the coming of a better year. Imagine seeing all these streets lit with lines of dummies being burnt! Everyone does it.

Also, we ate grapes, pineapple, and other fruit at midnight for prosperity and a spoonful of lentils to bring a year full of work and money.

After the fire burnt out, we went back inside for dinner. Yep, dinner. At 1 in the morning. But the food was fantastic. Apparently, midnight is only the start of the party here in Ecuador. Half of the family left after we ate but the rest of us ended up dancing the rest of the night (I didn't sleep) and leaving for a beach in Peru at 9 that morning. The beach was beautiful, the water was warm with huge waves, and I had a lot of fun. I can say I have spent January 1st on a beach in Peru. It was a great way to start off 2014 and I am glad I could spend it with my Ecuadorian family. I really enjoyed partying with them and am so happy that I chose to stay with them all night instead of going elsewhere to party. 

That being said, there were so many parties to choose from- they were everywhere. You couldn't really sleep because every street had music, dancing, fireworks, and partying somewhere. Some people went for a nap at 4am and continued to party at 6am. The discotecas were open all night into the morning, and then the party moved somewhere else. Traveling on January first was a sight with plenty of ash piles in the street and most businesses shut down for the day. 

If you are interested in reading more facts about the tradition and history of the años viejos or the festivities in general... see the following articles.

http://www.lan.com/onlyinsouthamerica/2012/12/goodbye-old-year/

http://www.life-in-ecuador.com/ecuador-new-years.html

Author's Note

Hi everyone,

As part of my goals for the New Year, I am trying to become even more involved in the Ecuadorian culture by thinking in Spanish all the time, speaking in Spanish all the time, and pretty much getting off my computer because that's not good. I am even going to try and cut back on listening to my favorite music (because it's in English) and talking to my family over Skype and Email. The less opportunities I give myself to utilize English, the more I can focus on taking my Spanish to the next level. As of now, I know enough Spanish to live day to day here in Ecuador. But my progress has plateaued and I really want to get to the point of more in-depth conversations and even greater understanding instead of playing fill in the blanks when I am listening to stories.

So, that being said, I will not be posting any more "Highlights of the week". I think now that my life here has become more normal, updating on every week would get redundant. Fear not, because I will still post about new and exciting things like when I switch host families, new opportunities that arrise, any new food, progress I have made with spanish, perhaps random little side posts, any important holidays or celebrations, and the rest of my trips. Basically, you will be getting plenty more posts, but maybe more like 1 or 2 posts each month. I hope you all understand. Thank you for reading so far, and I hope you continue to look out for my posts in the future. Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo!!!